Today, Carriers — the project helmed by Cincinnati, Ohio’s Curt Kiser — shares the new single “Motion” from Every Time I Feel Afraid, their debut album for Brassland (This Is The Kit, Bartees Strange) due out May 2. Listen to “Motion” and pre-order/save Every Time I Feel Afraid here.

“Motion” — which features Bryan Devendorf (The National), Benjamin Lanz (Beirut, The National), and Dave Hartley (The War on Drugs) — rides a motorik rhythm that provides Carriers with the ballast to employ a grounded yet airy psychedelic palette. Graceful guitar melodies whirl through effects pedals as a tangle of new wave synthesizers and bass lines dance together underneath Kiser’s melancholic lyrics.

The music video for “Motion,” directed by fellow Cincinnatian Romain Mayambi, follows Kiser around his hometown, where people all over the city — in stairwells, bleachers, or on the train — are clad in bright red and denim, continuously moving around him. It’s just another example of Carriers’ deep Cincinnati roots.

Alongside today’s release, Carriers also announces special partnerships with two essential Cincinnati civic institutions: a vinyl preorder of the album in partnership with Cincy’s iconic Shake It! Records (preorder available here), as well as an album release show at the historic and beloved Woodward Theater on May 24 — tickets and more info available here.

Watch the music video for “Motion” here.

Of today’s track, Kiser says: “’Motion’ is about pushing through tough times and taking action when things feel impossible. It’s a song for those feeling lost, reminding them that there are better days ahead …‘Motion’ is about taking the leap despite fear and uncertainty. The first step can make all the difference.”

The soul of Every Time I Feel Afraid is one that reckons with the realities and hardships of a life spent running down a dream. “It’s a kind of mantra I used to get through a really hard week,” Kiser explains. “While driving, my partner and I were hit by a drunk driver, then assaulted by the guy who hit us. A few days later my van got robbed in Chicago while I was on a short run of shows between Ohio and Illinois. We borrowed some gear, got through the gig, and I returned home. My laptop was one of the things stolen, so I knocked out the title track on an old Fostex multi-track borrowed from a friend.”

With Every Time I Feel Afraid, Kiser takes heed of all of the little signs the universe has sent his way and commits to his destiny as a songwriter. “It’s who I am and what I’m good at,” he says. “It’s taken a few hundred songs to feel confident in it, but I’m there now. I’ve accepted it as my life’s work no matter how successful I’m perceived to be in the world outside my home.”

Carriers has opened up for the likes of Big Thief and Damien Jurado and, in summer 2024, nabbed opening slots on tours with Band Of Horses and Fruit Bats. Sharon Van Etten even listed Carriers in the “Recommended Listening” section of the liner notes for her 2019 LP Remind Me Tomorrow.

Every Time I Feel Afraid has already received organic radio support from a who’s who of Triple A format radio stations in North America — several of which have global audiences: Seattle’s KEXP, Los Angeles’ KCRW, Canada’s CBC Afterdark program, and Philadelphia’s WXPN which added “Sometimes” and included Carriers on their nationally syndicated World Cafe program.